The Oswego State club hockey team traveled to New Jersey on Sept. 22 and 23 to face the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. Offense was the story for both of these games, as the Lakers continued to stay undefeated, notching both wins against the Scarlet Knights.
The first game was a commanding win from the Lakers’ offense, as they scored nine goals on the day, in a 9-4 victory over the Scarlet Knights.
The first period opened up with a goal from forward Josh Laravia, followed by a score by Ryan Saelens, with assists coming from Jeremy Keyes and Thomas McAller. Keyes went on to score a goal of his own, assisted by Carter McWilliams and John Trum. The last score for the Lakers in the first period came from Zach Matyasik, assisted by Bailey Doust and Matt Cardi.
The second period also came with a four-goal performance from the Lakers. The first one came from Saelens, assisted by Laravia, this would be his second of three goals of the day. McWilliams scored a goal of his own, followed by a goal from Ryan Durand on a power play, assisted by both Adam and Trevor Jubran. The period ended with a second score from Laravia, assisted by Keyes and Matt Cardi.
The third period did not see much action from the Lakers, as the only score came from Saelens, marking his third goal of the game, assisted by Adam Jubran and Keyes.
Saelens, after a big performance like that, is still only looking forward.
“I just want to keep pushing forward,” Saelens said. “We got URI (University of Rhode Island) coming up…they swept us last year so we got to get a win under our belt Friday…we just got to keep the ball rolling.”
The second game against the Scarlet Knights was a much closer contest, with the Lakers winning 5-4 coming down to a shootout between both teams.
The first period began with a score from co-captain Andrew Cardi, assisted by Benjamin Keever and McAleer. This was followed by a goal from McWilliams, assisted by Adam and Trevor Jubran on a power play. The Scarlet Knights fired back with two goals of their own, leaving the score at 2-2 at the end of the first period.
The Lakers went up 3-2 in the second period, with a goal from Laravia, assisted by co-captain Braydon Deming and Matt Cardi. The Scarlet Knights responded with a goal of their own to tie the game at 3-3 at the end of the second period.
The Scarlet Knights opened the third period with a goal, leaving the Lakers down for the first time in this game. However, they stayed competitive and Saelens found his fourth goal of the weekend, assisted by Keyes with just under 12 minutes remaining in the period. The period ended at 4-4 and the game went on to a shootout. After a miss from Trevor Jubran, Keyes found the goal in a clutch shootout score. The Lakers won the game by a score of 5-4.
Last week the story for the Lakers was lockdown defense, but this week the Lakers showed that their offense can play on the same level. However, the team abandoned that top-tier defense, according to head coach Travis Hyde.
“We talked about the performance of the defense last week against Villanova (University), but I think we got away from that a little bit against Rutgers,” Hyde said. “Eight goals in two games is definitely not ideal, it’s definitely not to our standards. That’s been the focus this entire week…to hammer down those details and get back to how we want to play in our defensive zones.”
The Lakers’ next matchup is against Rhode Island University, a team that is 3-1 against the Lakers all time. They play an old-school style of hockey and Hyde said the game plan is all about keeping things straightforward.
“We know it’s going to be bump and grind, fast-paced and physical,” Hyde said. “For us, our game plan is to keep things simple. Move pucks, support our teammates and support our systems. We want to try to minimize our mistakes and keep pushing the puck to their end and keep getting our opportunities.”
The Lakers will face the Rams on Sept. 29 and 30 as they hope to remain undefeated.
Photo via: Aubrey Fischer
